The “able-bodied” are now everywhere among government programs for the poor, Republican officials point out. They’re on food stamps. They’re collecting welfare. They’re living in subsidized housing. And their numbers have swelled on Medicaid, a program that critics say was never designed to serve them. These so-called able-bodied are defined in many ways by what they are not: not […]

A growing number of mostly Republican-led states are rushing to follow Kentucky’s lead in requiring thousands of people on Medicaid to work or lose health coverage. The governors of South Dakota, Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina have said in recent weeks that they plan to pursue work requirements for their Medicaid programs, following the Trump […]

Remember when then-candidate Donald Trump assuredvoters that he would not cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid? Apparently, this was just one of countless broken promises. Although he has not yet imposed any explicit cuts, on Thursday, the Trump administration took another step toward undercutting these essential social programs: It issued guidanceallowing states to impose work requirements on […]

Do you trust Paul Ryan to protect your Medicare benefits? How about White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, a former member of the House Freedom Caucus and, like Ryan, a longstanding foe of Medicare? If the just-passed House tax bill, its Senate counterpart, or some compromise of the two is signed into law, the enactment […]